GERB Briefs MEP about Anti-Govt Rallies in Bulgaria

The Deputy Chairman of Bulgaria's formerly ruling center-right opposition GERB party, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, met German MEP Monika Hohlmeier in Brussels, photo GERB

The Deputy Chairman of Bulgaria's formerly ruling center-right opposition GERB party, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, has informed German MEP Monika Hohlmeier about police brutality against antigovernment protesters.

Tensions escalated Tuesday around the Parliament in Sofia during the 5-month long protest rally staged by citizens and university students.

Hohlmeier is a MEP from the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and member of the Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption and Money Laundering, CRIM.

Former Interior Minister Tsvetanov met Hohlmeier in the European Parliament in Brussels. The German MEP has asked Tsvetanov about the demands of the protesters and the scale of the student occupation of universities in Bulgaria.

The Deputy Chairman of Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party (GERB) has told the German MEP about the persisting for 150 days of protests and the refusal of the ruling "coalition" between the left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP, the liberal, predominantly ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms, DPS, and the extreme nationalist Ataka to hear the voice of the people.

Hohlmeier has expressed concern about tensions and the unstable political situation in Bulgaria. She has said that the protests, lasting now for over 5 months and the government's refusal to hear them, are blocking the work of institutions and undermining the image of Bulgaria before Europe and the world.

Tsvetanov and Hohlmeier have also discussed the refugee wave from Syria to Europe. The MEP has explained that Germany joins in solidarity countries that are affected by the first wave of refugees and this year alone has accepted more than 5 000 refugees.

Tsvetanov told her that to date some 10 000 refugees have arrived in Bulgaria and politicians in the country were concerned about the ongoing conflict in Syria, which leads to expansion of xenophobic statements on the subject, coming mostly from nationalists.

He has expressed his gratitude to Monica Hohlmeier and to the tremendous efforts of her father Franz-Josef Strauss, who, as Prime Minister of Bavaria, has always been a great friend of Bulgaria and has worked for having good relations between the two countries. Tsvetanov has invited her to Bulgaria to present the documentary about her father and his position on Bulgaria, which already premiered in Brussels.